Download Germany in Transition knowledge checker

Germany in Transition knowledge checker
Rise to power-1919-1934
What was the Treaty of Versailles and why did German people hate it?
The Treaty of Versailles was the agreement signed in 1919 at the Palace of Versailles in France;
the treaty was drawn up by Britain, France and America. Germany was forced to sign the treaty
and the representatives of the Weimar Government that signed it were later referred to as the
November Criminals. German people hated the Treaty of Versailles as it took land from Germany,
blamed them for starting the First World War, limited their army to 100,000 men, banned their
army from the border with France and forced Germany to pay £6,600 million for the damage
(reparations) caused during the First World War.
Describe the main weaknesses of the Weimar Republic
The main weaknesses of the Weimar Republic are that Proportional Representation meant that
there were too many parties in the Reichstag, often parties had to rule together as part of a coalition
government and this made it difficult to make effective decisions, as parties found it hard to
agree. Article 48 also meant that in a case of an emergency the chancellor could rule without
consulting the Reichstag Government.
Describe the events of the Munich Putsch
On the 8th November 1923 Hitler and 600 of his SA men interrupted a meeting at a Beer Hall in
Munich and at gunpoint forced von Kahr, the Bavarian Chief Minister to support them. In the
early hours of the following morning 2000 SA men marched through Munich, they were
confronted by police, sixteen Nazis were killed and Hitler was shot in the arm. Hitler was later
arrested and placed on trial for treason. The trial gave Hitler a platform to promote his ideas, to
criticise the Treaty of Versailles and he was handed a very lenient sentence of 9 months.
Explain the importance of Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf was Hitler’s book written whilst he was in prison in 1924; the title means ‘My
Struggle in English. The book is important as it outlines Hitler’s plans for the future how he
would challenge the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. He also told of his hatred of Jewish people and
how he felt that they had no place in Germany.
How and why did the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan help Germany?
The Dawes Plan gave Germany loans and more time to pay off the Treaty of Versailles reparations
which helped Germany to recover between 1924 and 1929 this helped life in Germany get better
after the struggles of the early 1920s. The Young Plan in 1929 reduced the amount of money that
Germany had to pay as part of the Treaty of Versailles .
Why did the Wall Street Crash lead to an economic depression in Germany?
The economic improvement in Germany between 1924-1929 was supported by the money that
America had given as part of the Dawes Plan, when the Wall Street Crash happened America
demanded that Germany pay back all of the money that they had borrowed and they could not
lend Germany any more money. As a result German businesses could not survive and this led to
millions of German people becoming unemployed.
Explain why the German people voted for extremist parties after the Wall Street
Crash?
German people suffered financial hardships after the Wall Street Crash, people lost their jobs,
homes and hope. The Nazis and the Communist promised change at a time when the Weimar
Government seemed not to have any answers to the problems that millions of German people faced.
Hitler got support from the millions of workers that were unemployed who were desperate for
change and from businessmen who were afraid of losing their businesses if the Communists took
over.
Explain why the Reichstag Fire led to the Enabling Act in 1933
The Reichstag Fire led to the Enabling Act in 1933 because the Nazis blamed a Dutch communist
Van der Lubbe for starting the fire, Hitler then went to President Hindenburg and demanded
emergency powers (the Enabling Act) as he said that Germany was under attack from the
communists. These powers gave Hitler power to rule and make laws without having to ask the
German parliament for their approval; Hitler used the excuse that he was acting in the interests of
the country.
Why was the Night of the Long knives important to the Nazis?
The Night of the Long Knives was important to the Nazis because it got rid of anyone that may
have gone against the Nazis such as the Communists. Hitler was also able to get the support of the
SA by joining them together with the army. Before the Night of the Long Knives there had been 2
million men in the SA that had sworn an oath to Roehm and only 100.000 in the army that
swore loyalty to Hitler. Importantly Himmler had a chance to expand the SS into the army and
increase their influence.
Consolidation of power 1933-1939
How did the treatment of Jewish people in Germany change during the 1930s?
In Germany in the 1930s the treatment of Jewish people got progressively worse, in 1933 Jewish
people were forced to wear the Star of David so that they could be singled out and at this time SA
officers stood outside Jewish shops to stop Germans from using these shops. In 1935 the
Nuremberg Laws came into existence, these removed Jewish people’s rights as citizens, this meant
that Jewish people were no longer protected by the law.
In 1938 the Nazis allowed Kristallnacht to happen, this was a violent uprising of German people
that saw Jewish people and their property to be attacked.
By 1939 the Nazis were rounding up Jewish people and placing them into concentration camps,
this showed that Jewish people were being removed from German society.
Did the Nazis solve the problem of unemployment in Germany in the 1930s?
When the Nazis came to power there were 6 million Germans unemployed and by 1939 there were
350,000 Germans unemployed, so on the surface it looks as though the Nazis solved the problem
of unemployment. The Nazis created the National Labour Service Corps (RAD) from 1935 , it was
compulsory for all men aged 18-25 to serve in the RAD for six months and they did manual jobs,
lived in camps wore uniforms and carried out military duties. Public works programme- men
worked on building motorways (autobahns), tree planting and the building of hospitals and
schools. Rearmament- Hitler was building towards the Second World War the army went from
100,000 men in 1933 to 1,400,000 in 1939. Billions of marks were spent building tanks and
planes. In reality the unemployment figures that the Nazis shared did not include Jewish people
and women who lost their jobs in the 1930s.
What were the Nazis policies towards women in the 1930s?
Women were encouraged to follow a traditional role of being a house wife, the three K’s (kinder,
kuche, kirche-children, kitchen, church) promoted the role of women at home rather than working.
Women were limited in their social lives, they were not allowed to wear make-up, to dye their hair
or go out at night without a male escort. Women were rewarded with loans to marry and have
children, as long as they left their jobs. The Motherhood Cross rewarded women who had lots of
children.
Why was propaganda and censorship important to the Nazis in the 1930s?
Propaganda and censorship were important to the Nazis in the 1930s as Josef Goebbels was in
charge of propaganda and he aimed to control the thoughts, beliefs and opinions of German people.
Radio stations, cinemas and newspapers were under Nazi control they were censored in what they
could report and only Nazi approved ideas were allowed to be shared. Rallies were used to show the
strength and loyalty of the Nazis party and its followers. So propaganda was used to promote
and persuade German people of the Nazis and their policies and censorship was used to stop any
criticism of the Nazis filtering through to the German public.
How did the Nazis
How did the Nazis use the ‘strength through joy movement to keep workers happy?
The workers had to be kept happy, and the Strength through Joy Movement, or the KdF, was established to
provide workers with leisure opportunities. It was a popular movement which developed into a business
company. Through the KdF the state was able to control the individual, got everyone to conform and
managed their leisure time. It was a way of removing social barriers. In the past, only the rich could afford a
holiday.
War and its impact on life in Germany 1939-1947
Why did life on the German home front change during the Second World War?
At the start of life on the German home front was good, German had started the war well taking
over Poland, Czechoslovakia, France and Holland. This helped to keep the morale of those on the
German home front high, as they benefitted from the positivity of victories other nations.
Propaganda was also used to share the positive start that Germany made to the war and there was
very little bombing of German cities at the start of the war. During 1942-43 Germany suffered
big defeats at the battles of Stalingrad and El Alamein and the war started to swing against
Germany. In February 1943 Goebbels announced the policy of Total War which meant that all
sections of society played a part in the war effort. By 1943 the Nazis called up three million
women to work, but only 1 million took up the call. As the war turned against the Nazis the
supply of food became an issue and food rations were reduced, this led to an increase in the
number of German people using the ‘black market’. From May 1943 Britain and the USA began
a heavy and sustained bombing of German cities, which had a negative impact on civilian
morale. By 1945 many German cities such as Dresden, Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin had been
destroyed, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed during the raids.
The last line of defence on the German streets was the Volkssturm; this force was made up of men
who were too old to fight and young boys from the Hitler Youth.
How did the treatment of Jewish people change during WW2?
The invasion of Poland brought three million Jewish people under Nazi control and Jewish people
were separated into ghettos, these were walled areas of towns and cities and the conditions in the
ghettos were poor. Einsatzgruppen or killing squads rounded up and shot Jewish people and put
them into mass graves, by 1943 they had killed more than 2 million Jewish people. The Wannsee
Conference took place in January 1942 and this led to the ‘Final Solution’ of the Jewish question,
the decision was taken to build death camps in Poland. This led to gas chambers being built in
Auschwitz and Treblinka, conditions in the camps were awful, many were worked to death and
by the end of the war 6 million Jewish people had been killed in these camps.
How was Germany punished at the end of the Second World War?
At the end of the Second World War Germany was split into four zones, a British, an American,
a Russian and a French zone. This had been decided at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. At
the Potsdam Conference in July 1945 tensions rose between Russia and the other allied powers as
Russia refused to withdraw from Berlin.
What happened at the Nuremberg Trials?
22 senior ranking Nazis and 200 other Nazis were placed on trial at Nuremberg, charged with
war crimes and committing crimes against peace and humanity. The trial lasted from 21st
November 1945 until 1st October 1946, 142 were found guilty, and 24 received death sentences,
although 11 later had their punishment changed to life imprisonment. Goering avoided death by
committing suicide the evening before he was due to receive the death penalty.
How did Denazification affect Germany?
Denazification was a carefully considered policy of removing signs and symbols of Nazi rule
from all parts of German society. The Nazi party was banned in October 1945, December 1945 all
German military units were removed. In January 1946 all Nazis were removed from positions
working for local government. It was difficult to work out exactly who had and who not played a
more than a basic role in ‘supporting’ the Nazi and many escaped. May 1946 any books
promoting the Nazis and their ideas were banned, this amounted to over 300,000 books.